Nanban-Okina Pass
Nanban-Okina Pass (The Foggy Mountain Pass of the Old Westerner) is the second chapter of Karakuri Dôji Ultimo, the first chapter being the Chapter 0. However, it is considered to be the first official chapter of the series. Statistics *'Cover Characters:' Ultimo and Vice *'Cover Tagline: '"The Legend of Good and Evil Woven Through-Out All Time Residing Within The Heart of A Karakuri, Is it Good that Exists? Or Is It Evil...?" *'Page Tagline: '"The Doll Is The Mirror Reflecting The Image Of A Human. Power Is The Sword That Adheres To Its Resolution. The Heart Is The Soul of Good and Evil." **'English Version: '"Puppets Are Mirrors That Reflect More Than Their Humans Creators. Superior Strength Is A Sword That Manifests One's Will. Heart is Where The Spirit ''Of Good or Evil Lies." *'Ending Tagline: '"''Crossing Over Time, They Meet Again...Yamato and Ultimo." Plot Dunstan is riding his cart through a dense forest when all of a sudden, a young man named Yamato stops him and asks him who he is. Yamato examines Dunstan's cart and guesses that Dunstan is selling something valuable and is heading towards the capital to sell the valuables to the nobility. Dunstan says he is doing something like that and asks Yamato who he is. Yamato tells Dunstan his name and professes that he is a bandit. While he says this, his comrades leap out of the bushes and surround Dunstan. Dunstan muses about Yamato's gang, saying that it is funny that the bandits are composed of old men and even children. He then warns the bandits not to open the boxes he was carrying in his cart, saying that they are the ultimate Karakuri Dôji with nine dimensions and that opening the boxes would kill everyone in the area. Yamato responds that he hates the nobility for stealing their families and explains why the bandits are gathered in such a motley way and that is his motive for revenge against them. Dunstan muses again saying that they are like chivalrous bandits, but warns that the boxes contains ultimate good and ultimate evil. Dunstan then say that the bandits have no place in good, because they steal from people and they have no place in evil because their sins have no value which is more reason to leave the boxes alone. Yamato ignores Dunstan's warnings and proceeds to open the boxes anyways, the boxes open, revealing Ultimo and Vice sleeping inside of the boxes. The bandits are shocked to discover that the ultimate good and evil that Dunstan was blatantly advertising was nothing more than a pair of dolls. Yamato then mocks Dunstan, worrying that some sort of monster was going to jump out of the boxes, but it was just a pair of dolls. Daruma says that the dolls are really well crafted, musing on Ultimo's beauty and how Vice resembles a hero. Dunstan restated that the dôji are not dolls, but they are Karakuri Dôji, and now that the boxes are opened, they should begin their duties, he then asks Ultimo what he thinks about the bandits. Ultimo suddenly awakes, and says that after searching his memories, he declares that Yamato is not really evil and considering what has happened to Yamato in his life, there is plenty of room for forgiveness, but Ultimo thinks that Yamato is too violent to be his master. The bandits are shocked that the "doll" can move, talk, walk and even criticize. Vice awakes at this and angrily states that he is not a doll, but a Karakuri Dôji and he proclaims that he is going to kill the bandits for waking him up from his sleep. The bandit with the afro hair starts to panic and fires several arrows into Vice, but he just shrugs them off and throws them back at the bandit, landing several shots into the eye, killing him. Two of the other bandits see this and ready their arrows, but Vice was faster and slices their heads into ribbons with his gloves, he then uses his vision to find the hiding spots of the other three bandits and then his gloves extend, skewering all three of them instantaneously. Vice then wonders how many more people he can kill, and says he will everyone one hundred times each, he then unleashes his ultimate henge, Demon Mask, transforming himself into a ferocious skeletal creature. Yamato wonders what the monster is and what is Ultimate good and Ultimate evil, but he pushes the thoughts away, more concerned with the fact that some of his comrades have been killed by Vice. Vice then points at Yamato, saying that since he woke him up, he is going to die last, while all of his comrades die, Yamato says that he won't let him and draws his sword against him, saying that he is going to defeat him, making Vice says that Yamato may be foolish, but he is not a coward. Yamato's surviving comrades all band together in an attempt to fight Vice, who is enraged that Yamato has the gall to try and defeat him with primitive weapons, but then Ultimo uses Shishi Guchi to protect Yamato and his comrades, and uses Shishi Mai to wound Vice, which breaks him from his Demon Mask. Ultimo says that Vice has already killed 6 people and anymore would just be cruel, Ultimo goes further by saying that if Vice still tries to kill the bandits, he will destroy him. Vice questions Ultimo, wondering why he is helping thieves and beggars, and Ultimo replies by saying that the bandits' devotion to their comrades is true emotion which is the heart of good and thus, undeserving of death. Yamato asks Dunstan why his dôji are suddenly fighting each other. Dunstan states that Ultimo and Vice are representatives of good and evil and naturally they cannot get along because good and evil are like oil and water. Dunstan says that even he can't stop the dôji now and the reason that the dôji exist is to determine whether good or evil was stronger. Dunstan proclaims that he always wanted to find the ultimate strength, but was blocked by the barriers of good and evil and the strongest people are contained in them, and the definitions of good and evil are impossible to obtain in any situation, Dunstan asks what is good and evil, and he hypothesizes that there must be a more binding reason for existing. Dunstan then says that he was able to divide a single soul and created the dôji, two dolls with unmatchable strength and unyielding emotions. Dunstan says that a doll is the image of a human within normal humans, transcendent power is the sword that adheres to this philosophy and pure good and pure evil are sealed into their souls. Dunstan says that the dôji will live forever, and they strive to find the definitions of their lives under the teachings of their masters and to one day reach the final conclusion of their ultimate battle. Dunstan wonders who will win and what it will mean to the human race once a winner has been decided, he then asks Yamato if he finds any of this fascinating. Before he could allow Yamato to answer, he disappears saying that he cannot die and says that the Karakuri Dôji's ultimate battle has begun and he is interested in seeing how Yamato overcomes the crisis, Vice then says that Ultimo will die, but Ultimo counters this taunt by saying that Vice will be the one that dies. The scene then cuts to the 21st century with Rune Kodaira greeting Yamato Agari, Yamato asks Rune why he is so excited, to which Rune reminds him of Makoto Sayama's birthday party. Yamato is stunned, asking himself how he could have forgotten about Sayama's birthday and buying her a birthday present. Sayama then arrives and gives Yamato his bag and inquisitively asks if Yamato has a cold. Sayama says how excited she is about her party and then goes off to class, Yamato is low on funds and then decides to pawn his bag for money at Kokubundo Shoppe, an antique shop, so he can get Sayama a present. The old man, Taiji Kokubun, at the shop says that the store is closed, but when Yamato looks around the store, he sees Ultimo in a large case, dismantled and tattered and says Ultimo's name in a shocked fashion. Characters in order of appearance *Roger Dunstan *Yamato Agari *Darumada Masami *Hyoe Tokorozawa *Makoto Sayama *Ultimo *Vice *Rune Kodaira *Taiji Kokubun Category:Chapters